


Escape the Night: Betrayal at the House on the Hill

by Dede42



Series: Escape the Night Season 1 [11]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: 1920s, Artifacts, Bittersweet Ending, Chloroform, Gems, Guns, Hide and Seek, M/M, Novelization, Reunion, Ritual, Serum, hatchet - Freeform, knife
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-09-24 05:37:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20353270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dede42/pseuds/Dede42
Summary: Discovering the identity of the final owner, who is in league with the evil of the house, it's up to Joey, Dawn, Eva, and Oli to seal the evil before the sun fully rises. Can they do it, or will it cost them their lives?





	1. PROLOGUE: BEING USED

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's time to start the final episode of Season 1, and boy are things getting intense now that it's been revealed that Arthur is both the final owner AND is in league with the Evil of the house. How will the survivors get away? Time to fine out. Onward!

**PROLOGUE: BEING USED**

*****

Nine hours ago, a group of twelve YouTubers arrived at a house that was trapped in the 1920s to attend a dinner party hosted by Joey Graceffa and Dawn Hatcher. It had started out fine with them all having a wonderful time with some of the girls flirting with Joey, who was going to receive the deed to the house that very night, and they all were having a wonderful dinner when it all went horribly wrong.

Shane had been the first to die from a poison, and the others learned that he had been the member of an ancient order known as the Society Against Evil. He’d come to the house in order to perform a ritual to seal away the evil that was hiding within it. Learning that they needed to find four artifacts, plus decide who would go into challenges in order to obtain them with at least one person dying, they had had no choice but go forward after the time-traveling car was destroyed.

That was nine hours ago, and in that time most of the group had died: Andrea was killed by the ungodly machine; Justine was buried alive; both GloZell and Bart died when their names were written into a murder journal; Sierra was killed during an exorcism; Matt was poisoned; Tim shot himself in the head, and both Benny and Lele had been electrocuted to death.

Now, the only people still alive were Joey, Dawn, Eva, and Oli. After freeing the fourth owner, Vincent, they had learned from him that the fifth and final owner was no other then Arthur the butler. Now they were fleeing for their lives down the stairs, determined to get out of that house before sunrise, and they were running out of time!

*****

Joey, Dawn, Oli, and Eva all ran down the stairs and across the foyer to get to the front door. Eva was in the lead and was close to reaching the door – when Sarah suddenly came out of the library and grabbed her from behind, pressing a sharp knife to her neck. Marvin also appeared and pressed the barrel of a gun to Oli’s head, and both Joey and Dawn skidded to a halt when they saw their friends had been captured.

“Try _anything, _and your friends will _die,_” Sarah warned them with an evil smile on her face.

Arthur arrived in the foyer, calmly strolling forward and was unsurprised by the display before him. “Well, well, well,” he commented, coming up behind the couple and clamped his hands on their shoulders, gripping them tightly so that both Dawn and Joey both gasped in pain, wincing. “Isn’t _this _quite a plot twist? Let’s go into the living room and have a _chat, _shall we?”

Arthur steered Joey and Dawn into the living room, forcing them to their knees, and they were soon joined by Oli and Eva. Both Marvin, who’d pulled out a second gun that he was now pointing at the back of Joey and Dawn’s heads, and Sarah stood behind them, keeping her knife pressed to Eva’s throat so that the girl could only whimper in fear. Arthur stood before them, enjoying the fact that he didn’t have to pretend anymore.

“_Why _are you doing this?” Dawn asked the ex-butler, furious with herself for not seeing it sooner. “Why trick us into coming here in the first place?”

“Really, you haven’t figured it out yet, Donny?” Arthur countered and bent down so that he could touch her face, and when Joey tried to stop him, he backhanded him across the face. “Now, now, wait your turn, Joey,” he scolded while the young man rubbed his sore jaw, and turned his attention back to the brunette, who was glaring at him.

“Think about it, my dear,” he said, grasping her chin to keep her from moving away from his touch. “All those villains that your various characters have fought against on _Star Trek, Doctor Who, _and even on _Power Rangers_. What do they _all _have in common?”

Dawn swallowed, but she knew what he was getting at. “Absolute control over others,” she answered, and the ex-butler released his grip and patted her cheek, making her cringe. “And that’s also their downfall,” she added as he straightened up. “For absolute power corrupts _absolutely_. And the evil in this house _will _corrupt you if it hadn’t already.”

Arthur chuckled and nodded, amused by her words. “Oh, the evil _has _tried to corrupt me,” he admitted, “but how can you corrupt someone who has already made decisions that has already corrupted his own soul?”

“What are you talking about?” Joey asked, feeling overwhelmed, confused, angry, _and _upset by everything that had happen so far.

“I guess an explanation is in order,” the ex-butler confessed with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, and shared his story with them. “You see, before all this, I was a confidence man, and I played games with peoples’ lives. These days, you would call me a con artist. Anyhow, there was _one_particular game that I enjoyed playing involving marrying older women with a lot of money and no other family members that were still living.” He smirked at the disgusted looks that the quartet were giving him. “Eventually I got bored and I wanted more, which is when the devil came calling. The _moment _that I entered this house, I _knew _that I _had _to own this place, _and _control the evil within it.”

“So, that’s what this was all about?” Oli asked, finally finding his voice. “You had us kill off our friends so that _you _could control the evil?”

Arthur nodded and gestured to where the artifacts were on display. “I needed the artifacts, and the previous owner's gone, so…I could have this house…”

“You _played _us,” Joey snapped and was confused when the ex-butler fished two pieces of parchment out of his pocket and tossed it on the floor. “What is that?”

“That’s the ritual,” Arthur answered, pulling out two white cloths from his coat.

Oli immediately protested. “We _did _the ritual!”

“You did the wrong one,” Arthur corrected him, patting Oli’s cheek, and then he turned his attention to both Dawn and Joey by moving behind them. “Good night.” And he shoved the cloths into their faces, covering their noses and mouths completely, and pinning them against his legs as they struggled against his grip.

Joey and Dawn were trying _very _hard not to breathe in the chloroform that was on the cloths. They clawed at the ex-butler’s hands, trying to remove the cloths before they breathed in the sweet-smelling chemical, but it was _so _difficult not to breath. Eventually the need to breathe was too strong, and they both ended up gasping, inhaling the chloroform, and they both went limp as they passed out.

Once he was certain that they were completely unconscious, Arthur released his grip and both Joey and Dawn collapsed onto the floor, and the only sign that they were still alive was the slow rising and falling of their chests.

“Joey! Dawn, no!” Oli cried out and then his cries became muffled when Marvin, who’d put the guns away, shoved a similar cloth against his face, covering his nose and mouth. He struggled against the gardener’s strong grip, but eventually he ended up inhaling the chloroform, and he also passed out, slumping to the floor in an unconscious heap when Martin released his grip.

“Oli!” Eva cried, terrified, and screamed when Sarah shoved the chloroform-soaked cloth into her face. She did fight, but having already inhaled some of the chloroform moments before, it didn’t take her very long to fall unconscious, too, and she also slumped to the floor when the maid released her.

Arthur chuckled, tossing aside the cloths he’d been holding and nodded to Marvin, who also tossed aside the cloth. “Help me get these two into the dungeon,” he instructed while grabbing Joey by his arms and swinging him over his shoulders, and the gardener scooped Dawn into his arms. “Sarah, remain here with those two until Marvin comes back, and then help bring them down next.” And when Sarah nodded, he and Marvin headed for the back of the house.

*****

In a different part of the basement, Arthur and Marvin carried their charges into the dungeon, where there was already a bald man chained to the back wall, muttering to himself, and acting in a Gollum-like manner. They both ignored him and laid Joey and Dawn against two x-shaped poles, chaining their wrists.

“Go back upstairs and help Sarah bring down the other two,” Arthur ordered and Marvin left to do just that. Once he was gone, Arthur reached into his coat and removed a black case, which he opened to reveal four syringes filled with a yellowish liquid.

“You know, Joey,” he commented as he swabbed the side of the young man’s neck with an alcohol pad, and then injected him with one of the syringes, “I’m actually really glad that you, Dawn, and both Oli and Eva end up being the sole survivors of this little game. You four are the _strongest_, the _smartest_, and I have plans for you all.” He then took out and opened a bottle of chloroform and waved it under Joey’s nose to ensure that he remained asleep and patted his cheek.

Arthur then scooted over to Dawn and, after swabbing her neck, injected her with the second syringe. He also waved the bottle of chloroform under her nose to ensure that she also remained asleep. “The evil was worried about your Light, my dear, but it won’t have to worry much longer,” he remarked, gently stroking her face with one finger. He looked up when Marvin and Sarah entered, carrying in the unconscious Oli and Eva over their shoulders firefighter style, and he waited until they were both chained to the two remaining x-shaped poles. “Go back upstairs, I’ll finish up here.”

Once Marvin and Sarah were gone, Arthur went to Oli and then Eva, swabbing and injecting them both in their necks with the remaining syringes, waved the bottle of chloroform under their noses to ensure that they remained asleep, and then he set up five boxes next to each of them, including the insane man. He put a ring of keys on a hook behind the mad man, and then he set oddly-shaped pokers a few feet from the boxes. “Sleep well, all of you.” And he left the dungeon, locking the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Darn that Arthur! Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	2. CHAPTER ONE: TIME TO ESCAPE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's time for the first chapter and to see if Joey, Dawn, Oli, and Eva can escape and stop Arthur before sunrise. Onward!

**CHAPTER ONE: TIME TO ESCAPE**

*****

Joey wasn’t sure of how long he was unconscious, but when he finally woke up, his head was pounding from the chloroform, his neck was sore, and he was chained to an x-shaped pole for some reason. Lifting his head and shifting a bit so that he was upright, he looked around and when he saw Dawn, Oli, and Eva were also chained up in what was clearly a dungeon with a bald man chained to a wall just behind Oli, it all came rushing back to him, the whole damn night.

“Guys!”

Dawn woke with a start and groaned, rubbing first her aching head and then her sore neck, pushing herself so that she was sitting straight, and she became alarmed at their current location. “You’ve _gotta _be kidding me! Joey?”

“I know,” Joey said as Eva woke up next with the same pounding head and sore neck. “Egh, why do I have a headache?”

“My head hurts, too,” Eva agreed, “and so does my neck.”

Oli woke up just then with a gasp, startling them, and before they could warn him, he saw the bald man, who was making a warbling noise, behind him, and he began to panic. “Omigod! Omigod!” And his panic didn’t lessen when the mad man began laughing manically. “We're…we're _chained_…”

“We know, Oli,” Dawn said and noted that their friend was also suffering from both a headache and a sore neck. “I think Arthur used chloroform on us earlier, which is why we all have headaches.”

“Doesn’t explain why our necks are sore,” Eva pointed out.

“Guys, we’re _still _chained up,” Oli pointed out and cringed when the mad man cackled again.

Joey looked around, looking for something and saw the box that was next to him. “Look! I have a box!"

"All dressed up and _nowhere to go!_” the lunatic sneered, swaying side-to-side.

“Oh, shut up, Gollum,” Dawn grumbled as she, Oli, and Eva found that they had boxes, too. “Now, how do we open these things?”

Eva looked around and spotted a long, skinny object that wasn’t far from Joey’s right hand. “Joey, what is that? What is that next to you? It's like…it's like a poker…"

"Welcome to my house!” the mad man crowed, dancing side-to-side.

“Joey, get it," Oli begged, tears in his eyes. "Open the box.”

Ignoring the mad man and heeding his friend’s request, Joey reached for the poker and, after a few attempts, managed to snag it and dragged it over to him. He picked it up, seeing that one end was shaped like a ‘V’, and he tried to insert it into the similarly shaped hole in his box, but it wouldn’t fit. “It doesn’t fit.”

“Welcome!” the lunatic shrieked.

“Give it to me, Joey,” Dawn requested, wishing that the lunatic would just shut up, and when Joey managed to slid the poker to her, she grabbed it. “Come on,” she muttered, trying to insert it into her own box, but it wouldn’t fit. “Dammit!”

“Give it to Oli then,” Eva suggested, hoping that it would fit at least _one _of the boxes.

Dawn nodded and did her best to toss the poker to Oli, but it wasn’t easy with the chains, and it just barely fell short of him. “Sorry!”

Oli grunted as he tried to reach it with his boot, and he managed to drag it closer so that he was able to grab it. Straightening up and telling the ranting lunatic to shut up, he tried to open his box, but it wouldn’t go in. “No, no! It isn’t working!”

“Toss it to me, Oli!” Eva called out, and he did so. She managed to catch it and when she tried the poker on her own box, it opened on the first try. “Guys, mine worked!” she exclaimed, relieved. “Mine worked!” She took out a key, which she used on one of the cuffs, freeing her wrist, and she found a poker nearby. Reaching for it, she grabbed it and tossed it to Joey, who caught it. “Use it. See if it works.” And she went to work on freeing her other wrist with the key.

Joey inserted the poker into his box and this time it opened. Pulling out the key, he unlocked his wrists while Eva went to help Dawn, having found another poker that the brunette couldn’t reach, and then she went to help Oli, who was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack, and it didn’t help that the lunatic was still ranting and raving at them with an insane smile on his face.

Once Joey and Dawn were freed, they hurried over to Oli, who was using the poker that Eva had found, and he managed to unlock his box, discovering that the key only unlocked one of the chains. “Guys, it doesn't work!" he yelped, beginning to hyperventilate, and his entire body was shaking. "It doesn't work! Don't leave me! Please don't leave me…”

“We’re not going to leave you, Oli,” Dawn promised, hoping to calm him down until they could get him free.

Joey looked around the dungeon and saw that there was one last box, and it was next to the cackling lunatic. _‘It _would_be next to Gollum,’ _he thought sourly. “There's a box there, too! And a keyring!” he added, spotting the ring of keys that was hanging on a hook on the wall that was directly behind the lunatic.

“Get the key!" Oli pleaded. "Get me out!”

“Joey, just grab the key from him!" Eva shouted.

Dawn moved to Joey’s side, eying the situation. “Ok, I’ll distract Gollum here,” she said, hoping that she wouldn’t regret her plan, “and you get both the box and the keys.”

Joey nodded and while Dawn made faces at the lunatic, who tried to lunge at her despite the chains, he managed to kick the box to a safe distance and he grabbed the keyring off the wall. “Got it!” He and Dawn went back to Oli, and they managed to free him with the first key on the ring.

“Yes!" Oli cheered, relieved to be free and he let his friends help him up. “Yes!”

"No!" the lunatic snarled. "No!"

Joey ignored him and turned his attention to the final box. "Wait. What is this?” He crouched down with Eva and Dawn, and he opened the box, finding a pocket watch and a note. He picked up the pocket watch to check the time while Eva read the note.

“‘Dear, Joey, Dawn, Oli, and Eva. I'm glad that you four were able to last this long. As a reward for your tenacity, you get to keep your lives, as long as you stay down here in my – shall we say – _guest room_’,” she read, feeling uneasy. “‘No need to worry. I've injected you all with a special serum that I created myself. By the time the sun rises at 6:00 am, you will be as complacent as well-trained animals and ready to join the house staff’.” She stared at her friends in horror. “This is from the butler!”

Dawn touched the spot on her own neck, wincing a little since it was still sore. “No wonder we have sore necks,” she realized. “That jerk drugged us twice!”

Joey was feeling sick, for he knew that he would rather _die_then be the slave to the likes of Arthur, and there was _no way _he was going to let that happen to his friends either. “Guys,” he said, looking at the pocket watch and saw the time, “it’s 5:30 am. We’ve only got a half hour before sunrise.”

“Omigod,” Oli moaned.

“We better not waste the time we have left,” Dawn stated grimly.

Joey nodded and straightened up, hoping that the remaining key on the keyring would help get them out of there. “You’re right, Donny,” he agreed. “We’ve got a half hour. Let’s go.”

“Stay!” the lunatic hissed as they hurried to the door. “Go,” he mumbled as they got the door open and exited the dungeon.

*****

Going up a flight of stairs and opening another door, they soon found themselves in a bedroom, and there were files scattered on a desk and on the nearby bed. Finding flashlights, they began searching the room for clues or _anything_that could help get them out of that place.

“Whose bedroom is this?” Eva wondered, looking around.

“Arthur’s,” Dawn answered. “His quarters are in the back of the house.” She opened one of the files on the bed and sighed when she saw the contents. “There are times when I _hate _being right.”

“What is it?” Joey asked as he, Oli, and Eva joined her, and he saw that inside the file was a photo of himself, which was of him shortly after he had had his hair cut from his old emo haircut to the spiky haircut that he preferred when it wasn’t smoothed down, his fingerprints, and information about himself. “That’s me. Why does Arthur have a file on me?”

Dawn opened the other files, revealing information about herself, Oli, Eva, and their dead friends. “He has files on all of us,” she explained. “I always thought it was odd that Arthur would come to you about this place, Joey, and while he knew about me being an actress, I wondered how he knew about my dislike for tuna since that isn’t common knowledge.”

“But your character on _Doctor Who _doesn’t like tuna,” Oli pointed out.

“The difference is that character is _allergic _to tuna while I don’t like eating it,” Dawn corrected him. “Had _way _too many tuna casseroles when I was a kid, and I can barely stand the taste, much less the smell.”

Eva flipped through her file. “Well, he certainly did his research,” she commented, looking around again. “All this place needs is a cork-board, our photos, and some red…wait." She grabbed something from the wall. "Guys. I found a key.”

“Wait what?” Joey asked, shutting the file he’d been looking at about Shane, which did contain information about him being a member of the Society Against Evil. “You found a key?”

Eva nodded, showing it to them. “Yeah. On top of here.”

“Wait,” Oli said, having moved to the desk, where there was an open file. “I found something. This is it. Look.” And they quickly joined him as he read the note attached to the file. “‘Brother, you have humiliated me, betrayed me, enchained me in a dark corner of your new estate. You brought me here to help you clean things up, but really, you needed to stab me in the back to show the wicked presence your loyalty. Someday, the key to my cell will be found, and when that day comes, I will repay this betrayal with blood. I know you've hidden it behind a trail of gems, the first of which lurks beneath the surface of a reflecting pool’.”

“That’s it,” Eva breathed. “According to this, Arthur has a brother, who he betrayed and is locked up somewhere in the house.”

“Probably did it to convince the evil that he wanted to serve it,” Dawn guessed. “And did by pulling a Cain and Able on his own brother. That’s just wrong.”

Oli reread the note again. “‘Beneath the surface of a reflecting pool’,” he repeated. “Better take this with us.” And he pocketed the note.

“We have to go to the pool,” Eva said, feeling hopeful again.

Joey nodded. “Ok,” he said, looking around the bedroom. “How do we get out of here?”

“This key has to belong to _something_,” Eva said, holding up the key again.

Joey aimed his flashlight around the room until he found the door. “This door,” he said, going to it. “Right here.” He took the key and tried it, grinning when the door opened. “Let’s go.” And they hurried out of the room with Eva remarking that she broke a nail, which got some chuckles from her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bald man in the dungeon made me think of Gollum with how he was acting. What do you guys think?
> 
> I will post the next chapter tomorrow and I will see you all then. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	3. CHAPTER TWO: HIDE AND SEEK PART 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night.
> 
> I'm doing a quick update before I go to my job of caring for my client, and it's time for our four survivors to start searching for Arthur's brother before they run out of time. Onward!

**CHAPTER TWO: HIDE AND SEEK PART 1**

*****

When the quartet exited the house, a loud siren went off, making them jump and they quickly hid themselves when Arthur, Sarah, and Marvin appeared on the balcony above them, having been alerted by the siren.

“This place has a _flipping _alarm system?!” Oli hissed. “Why didn’t you say this house an alarm system?!”

“It doesn’t!” Joey hissed back. “Or at least it didn’t before everything went to _hell!_”

“Ssh!” Dawn hissed, nodding to the bad guys above them. “They’re right above us.”

Arthur was fuming that their four captives had managed to escape, even when he thought that wasn’t going to be possible with how he’d set up the boxes and the pokers. “I don't know _how _they got out!” he growled.

"Oh, I don't know," Sarah snapped. "Maybe if you hadn't left them with _boxes-"_

"Enough!” Arthur snapped, interrupting her. “Sarah, you take the house. Marvin, you check the side. If you find them, _gut _them where they stand!" He looked his compatriots dead in the eye. "This game is _over._”

"Aw, come on, Arthur," Marvin pouted. "The girls’ are _too hot _to die. Can't I have some fun with them first?" he pleaded, unaware that said girls had heard _everything_, and they were both cringing at the mental images popping in their minds.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Fine. Whatever,” he grumbled. “Do what you want. Just make sure they-"

"They _will _die," Sarah assured him, a knife clinched in her right hand, and a steely look in her pitch-black eyes. "I promise you. " And with that, the staff began their search.

*****

It was time to run again, and the quartet hurried away from the house and toward the pool, determined to avoid the three bad guys.

“He's coming," Joey hissed, gesturing at Marvin's approaching figure. "Oli, Dawn, this way. This way. Eva! This way! Come on!” And he lead the way to the pool, ducking down behind some bushes to avoid being seen by Marvin as he walked by, armed with a hatchet.

The moment that the groundskeeper was out of sight, they sprinted over to the pool, and began searching for the gems, but there was nothing in the water this time.

“Dang it,” Joey muttered, certain that this was where they were suppose to go.

Oli pulled out the note and reread it. “But it says…” he muttered. “It says it's beneath the surface of a reflecting pool…what are we missing?"

“It must mean a different kind of reflecting pool,” said Dawn, trying to think of what that could be, but the fear and stress was making it harder then usual to concentrate.

"Maybe the fountain?" Eva suggested.

Joey shrugged. "Sure. Let's try it. This way.” And they started to head for the fountain when Arthur suddenly appeared and they had to retreat, especially since Marvin had returned, too. Joey, Dawn, and Oli managed to duck into the pool house, which was, thankfully, devoid of mermaids, and hid while poor Eva was forced to hide behind the building itself to avoid being seen.

Arthur and Marvin searched the area, but finding nothing, they left to search elsewhere. The moment that they were gone, Joey, Dawn, and Oli exited the pool house and looked around for Eva as they hurried to the fountain, jumping down so that they were hidden by the wall.

“Eva, come on!” Joey called out in a whisper and waved when she came out from behind the pool house. “Get down here! Hurry!"

"Where are you?" Eva squeaked fearfully as she moved toward his voice, and when she saw him waving, she hurried over and jumped down next to them.

"Marvin's over here," Joey hissed, pointing to the groundskeeper as he walked by. "Marvin's over here.” They then ran to hide behind some trees and, after they were certain that Marvin was gone. “Ready?” he whispered and they nodded. “One…two…_three!_” And they sprinted across the lawn, jumping over several low hedges, and they duck behind the fountain.

After taking a minute to catch their breathes, the quartet peered over the side of the fountain, using their flashlights to see what was under the water, and they discovered that it was filled with diamonds.

“There's a gem in the water," Joey remarked.

Oli frowned. "There's a German?"

"No! A _gem!"_

"Oh.”

Dawn found a chest and put it onto the edge of the fountain, reading the inscription on the lid. “‘Under the water are three invisible stones. Place them on my crown, and I will repay you tenfold’.”

While Oli began stirring up the water with his hand, Joey crept away for a few seconds, and then he returned with a rake. Bracing a foot on the edge of the fountain, he used the rake to start poking through the water for the correct gems.

“I’m nervous,” Eva moaned since what Joey was doing was making a lot of noise. “I’m nervous.”

Joey was reaching into the water for the right gems when Sarah suddenly shouted from the direction of the house.

_`“I found them!”`_

“Joey!” Oli hissed with alarm. “You’re caught! She’s in the window!”

Grabbing the gems, Joey ducked down behind the fountain. “Who?”

Sarah came out on the balcony just then. “Arthur!” she called out. “Marvin!”

Joey showed them the diamonds. “I got the diamonds,” he whispered and Dawn took them, placing them on the chest, which popped open. Joey barely had time to remove the two rubies and a note from the chest when Marvin appeared and they duck down again.

“Where?” the groundskeeper asked, looking around with a scowl.

Sarah pointed at the fountain. “They were over there.”

“Where?”

Sarah descended the stairs to join Marvin, and as they did this, the quartet darted away and hid themselves behind some bushes. Marvin and Sarah searched around the fountain, but they couldn’t find their prey. “They were _just there!_”

“Get back to the house and I’ll search the grounds.

“Ok.”

*****

Once they were certain that Marvin and Sarah were gone, Joey unfolded the note and read it to his friends. “‘The spirits will speak words to help you restore my evil eyes, so I might guard the house with my wings’.”

“Wings?” Dawn repeated, peering at the clue. “Is there, like, a statue? A statue with wings?"

Eva nodded. "Up there. See that?" She pointed to the top floor of the house, where where there was a gargoyle standing like a silent sentinel. "Wings. That guards the house."

"The gargoyle!”

The good news was that they knew that they needed to get to the gargoyle. The bad news, however, was that they were going to have to go inside the house, where Sarah was prowling the halls with her sharp knife.

This _so _wasn’t going to be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Great, they have to somehow get inside to the house to reach the gargoyle without being caught by Sarah. THAT'S going to be LOADS of fun. I will see you all on Monday with the next chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	4. CHAPTER THREE: HIDE AND SEEK PART 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's time for the survivors to sneak into the house to get to the gargoyle. Can they do it without being caught? Time to find out. Onward!

**CHAPTER THREE: HIDE AND SEEK PART 2**

*****

The quartet made their way to the front of the house, sneaking up the stairs to the front door, hoping to get inside without being seen by anyone. They reached the front porch and Joey was checking through the glass for any sign of the evil maid.

“Watch for Sarah,” Eva whispered.

Joey nodded and reached for the doorknob, quietly opening the door so that they could slip inside undetected.

Marvin just happen to round the corner at that _exact_moment and he spotted them. “I see them in the front!”

“Crap! Inside now!” Joey bolted through the door with Dawn on his heels and they didn’t stop until they ducked inside the library with their backs pressed against the wall as they slid down to the floor that they were aware of Eva being with them – but there was no sign of Oli. “Where’s Oli?”

“I don’t know,” Eva moaned and spotted the groundskeeper moving past the windows. “I see Marvin. I see Marvin."

Joey shook his head. "I don't know where he is." Then, Marvin passed by without incident. "He didn't see us.”

“Oli must still be hiding outside,” Dawn guessed. “He probably didn’t get a chance to get inside because of Marvin showing up like that.”

_‘Please don’t be dead, Oli,’ _Joey thought as they kept hidden while listening to Sarah moving around upstairs. _‘Please _don’t _be dead.’ _He wasn’t sure if he could handle the death of another friend right now.

*****

Oli was hiding behind a potted plant, cursing the fact that he’d gotten separated from his friends, who were inside while he was stuck outside! He wasn’t entirely sure _how _it happen, but there he was, and now he was having to sneak to the back door since it wasn’t possible to go near the front door with Marvin lurking around.

Oli made his way along the porch, being as quiet as possible, and he turned a corner, only to find himself face-to-face with Arthur! _‘Crap!’ _He bolted down the stairs while the ex-butler called out about having found him, and he fled. Somehow he was able to avoid being captured, and he found the stairs to the back door.

*****

Oli managed to get inside without being seen and began searching for his friends when he heard Joey’s voice softly calling out to him from the direction of the library. “Oli! Get inside! Oli!” And he quickly joined his friends, relieved to find them alive and safe.

“All right, listen,” Joey whispered. “Sarah's upstairs. She needs to come down here so we can go up-” He stopped when Dawn shushed him and he heard footsteps on the stairs. He peered around the doorframe and saw that Sarah was coming down the stairs. “She’s coming. She's coming. She's coming. Get under the table. Get behind the table.”

They scrambled into the dinning room and hid under the table, pulling in the chairs to keep themselves from being seen…hopefully. Much to their horror, Sarah entered the dining room, looking around, and they were certain that any second, she was going to look under the table and find them. Thankfully, she didn’t and she left the room instead, clearly intending to search for them elsewhere.

Once she was gone, they pushed the chairs out and crawled out from under the table and made their way to the doorway. They jumped a foot in the air when they heard Marvin’s voice from outside, and it was getting closer!

_`“__Come out__!_ _Come out and play__!”`_

The next thing Joey and Dawn knew, they were bolting up the stairs and they could hear Sarah coming after them. They reached the second floor and duck into the nearest room, where the holy water had been found, only to see that Oli and Eva weren’t with them, and when Sarah suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs, they screamed and slammed the door shut, locking it.

_`“Open the door!”` _Sarah’s voice screamed and she banged on the door _hard_. _`“Open the door!”`_

Joey and Dawn backed away, their hearts pounding in their chests, and they exchanged fearful looks. _How _were they going to get out of there? And were Oli and Eva still safe? Or had they been killed?

*****

Down on the first floor, Eva was still in the library while Oli had been forced to duck and hide under the stairs, and they could hear Sarah banging and shouting at a door, which they assume meant that Joey and Dawn were hiding in a room and had locked the door to keep the evil maid out. After about a minute of this, they could hear Sarah moving around again, clearly having given up in trying to get to their friends.

_`“__Where is the other one__?”` _Sarah’s voice snarled and Eva both cringed and bristled when the maid began calling out her name, mangling it. _`“Eva? Probably up here somewhere.”` _And her footsteps faded away.

*****

When they couldn’t hear Sarah anymore, Joey carefully unlocked the door and peered out into the hallway, stepping out with Dawn behind him, and he called softly down the stairs. “Guys? Guys? Eva? Oli?”

Much to their relief, Eva hurried up the stairs as quietly as she could, but there was still no sign of Oli, and when they heard Marvin’s voice shouting, they immediately started fearing the worst when Oli _finally _appeared.

*****

Reaching the top floor, they found the door that would let them gain access to the gargoyle, but getting inside wasn’t going to be easy. They first had to shove aside a small table and then pull up the bottom half of the door, which made an ungodly noise that had them all cringing.

_`“They’re upstairs!”` _Marvin’s voice shouted just as they got the door open, and they all duck out onto the balcony that the gargoyle was located on.

“Why is it the gargoyle?" Joey wondered, crouching down next to the gargoyle, rubies in hand. "I'm going to try putting them in.” He reached over the head of the gargoyle and inserted both rubies into the eyes. “Ok, they’re in. Now what?”

“Look for another clue?” Dawn suggested, surprised nothing had popped open when the rubies had been placed on the gargoyle.

Eva looked around and found a tiny chest. She picked it up and opened it, finding both an emerald and a note. “Here it is,” she said, pocketing the emerald and she began reading the note. “‘I overlook the back of the estate, and wait to feast on green. A met-’”

“Guys, guys," Oli whimpered, pointing at the stairwell. "Here she comes." And sure enough, Sarah was heading back up the stairs, and she looked more malevolent than ever. "She's coming. Get down!”

Dawn, Oli, and Eva all duck down so that they couldn’t been seen while Joey quickly slid the door shut and duck down as well, making sure that they were out of view of the window.

Eva started reading the note again, keeping her voice low so that only her friends could hear her. “‘I overlook the back of the estate, and wait to feast on green. A metal spiral-’” She stopped reading again and fell silent when Sarah peered through the glass in the door. She kept looking, but when she could only see the gargoyle, she frowned and walked away. “Did she see us?”

“No,” Joey whispered, relieved that they were currently safe. “Omigod. Ok.”

Nodding, Eva returned to the note and finished reading it. “‘A metal spiral of pain will lead you to my table of blood’. Spiral staircase,” she whispered, thinking quickly. “Back of the house. It must be. Let's…let's go.”

Joey peered through the glass to make sure that the coast was clear. “She’s gone,” he reported. “Come on.” He slid the door back up and they snuck out, Oli choosing to leave behind his flashlight since they only needed three flashlights by that point. “Ok. Let's go, let's go, let's go, _let's go. _We have to be quiet.” And they started down the stairs while keeping their eyes and ears peeled for the bad guys.

*****

Reaching the first floor without incident for once, the quartet headed for the front door. Joey and Dawn had just reached it when-

“Ha!”

Realizing that they’d been spotted by Sarah, they bolted out the door as fast as their legs could carry them across the porch and down the stairs, hearing the maid call out Marvin’s name. They didn’t stop running until they reached the fountain and hide behind it again. “Guys?” They peered over the edge and saw that there was no sign of Eva _or _Oli.

“They must still be inside,” Dawn realized. “Dammit! Why _does _this keep happening?”

“I don’t know,” Joey complained, frustrated that they’d been separated from their friends _again_. “I'm so freakin' upset!”

They both cringed and duck down when they heard Arthur shouting. “_Come on!_” he shouted in the distance. “This is _insane! _You guys are the _worst _searchers I've ever hired!”

“Well, at least we’re screwing up whatever Arthur has planned,” Dawn whispered, snickering a little and even Joey had to smile a little at the thought of frustrating the ex-butler. But that didn’t help them much since there were three bad guys between them and their friends, and they had no idea if their friends were still alive or not.

How were they going to find the final owner, Arthur’s brother, without them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sheesh, talk about a deadly game of hide and seek. I will see you all tomorrow with the next chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	5. CHAPTER FOUR: HIDE AND SEEK PART 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> Joey and Dawn have been separated from Oli and Eva, and they have no idea if their friends are still alive or not. Time to find out what is going to happen next. Onward!

**CHAPTER FOUR: HIDE AND SEEK PART 3**

*****

Oli and Eva were trapped inside the house and had been forced to retreat down the hallway after Sarah had suddenly appeared, preventing them from following Joey and Dawn out the front door, and they duck into the study.

“Eva," Oli whispered, closing the door behind them. "Hide. Please. You need to hide. I can't…they _won't _find you. Okay?"

Eva nodded and she duck underneath the nearby desk while Oli hid behind the door, on the off chance that Sarah did enter the room.

_`“Eeee-va?”` _The maid's voice echoed throughout the halls. _`“Are you still here? Eeeeee-vaaaa__…”`_

_`“Hello?”` _Arthur called out from outside somewhere._`“Oli?”`_

_`“_ _Eva, Marvin thinks you're cute_ _!”`_

_`“Oh yes.”`_

Eva thought she was going to be sick when she heard that, especially having overheard Marvin wanted to do _things _with her and Dawn earlier. Even Oli was making a face upon hearing that, and there was _no way _in hell he was going to let Marvin do _anything _to either Dawn _or _Eva.

*****

Meanwhile outside, Joey and Dawn were still hiding behind the fountain, and having heard Arthur call out the names of their friends, they knew that they hadn’t been found, but they were running out of time, and the sun was going to be rising over the mountains soon.

“You know what?” Joey whispered to Dawn, fed up with all of this. “Screw it. You and I are going to the freakin’ staircase ourselves. Come on.” He started for the back of the house and Dawn reluctantly followed him, partly because she didn’t want to be left alone, and partly because she didn’t think it would work since she knew that Eva had the emerald with her.

*****

Inside the study, Eva and Oli both froze when they heard Joey call out their names from somewhere in the backyard. _`“Guys! __Guys, we’re in the backyard, _where _the hell are you__?!?”` _And they scrambled to the window to get it open in order to save their friends before the bad guys got to them.

*****

_`“Get them!”` _Sarah shouted from inside the house.

_‘Oh crap!’ _Joey and Dawn both ran off, and Joey was cursing himself for being stupid. They ran for the pool house, having to duck and dodge when Arthur began firing at them, the bullets whizzing past their ears, and they barely got inside, locking the door behind them.

They moved so that they couldn’t be seen through the glass as Marvin ran up and began banging on the door, trying to get the door open. _`“Come out,”` _he sneered, peering through the glass, trying to spot them. _`“Come out and play!”`_

_‘Not a chance in hell,’ _Dawn thought, clinging to Joey, who was holding her close.

_`“Marvin! Marvin!”`_

Much to the relief of Joey and Dawn, the groundskeeper left to see what Sarah wanted. Once they were certain that he was gone, they slipped out of the pool house, hoping that they would find their friends before the bad guys did, and headed for the back of the house once again.

*****

Since the bad guys were currently preoccupied with trying to find Joey and Dawn, Oli and Eva were working on opening the window in the study so that they could get outside and find their friends before it was too late.

The moment they got the window open, both Joey and Dawn appeared, and they were seriously out of breath by this point. Oli and Eva climbed out the window with their friends’ help, and they hurried to the spiral staircase.

*****

Reaching the top of the staircase, they found a huge metal bust with an open compartment in its’ chest.

“Omigod,” Joey whispered. “What _is _this?”

“This is it,” Eva said, pulling out the emerald from her pocket, and she was about to feed it into the open compartment when they heard movement below and they duck down to keep from being seen from Arthur and Marvin as they walked around below them.

Marvin threw his hands up in frustration at being unable to find their quarry. “Am I fired?"

"No," Arthur replied. "No one else can do the pansies like you.” And they walked away, resuming the search.

Once she was certain that they were gone, Eva fed the gem into the open compartment, and it spit out their prize: a key and a map.

“Ok,” Joey said, relieved and unaware that Oli had just pocketed the key. “There we go. A key and a map.”

They examined the map and Oli realized that it was a map to the outside of the house itself. “Look. That's the front door there. The way it's set up…”

“We're going back in the basement,” Joey realized.

“Ugh, here we go _again_,” Dawn groaned. _‘Back to the infernal basement!’_

Joey took a deep breath and looked at his friends as they stood up. “Wait. Let's think about this. Let's _actually _have a plan and stick to it. Okay?”

“Ok,” Oli agreed, wishing that they’d had a plan from the start. “Right. So what's the plan?”

“The plan is," Joey said after a few awkward seconds of suspense, "we're going down here, turning right, and going straight into the-” and had to stop Oli when he tried to push past them to get down the stairs. “No. Arthur’s right down there.” And sure enough, Arthur was walking around below them.

They waited until the ex-butler left, and then they hurried down the stairs and around the back of the house to get to the basement.They were running out of time and if they could get to the basement without getting caught or separated again, they would still have a chance to free the final owner and seal the evil of the house away forever.

They were _almost _home free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reunited! And one step closer to getting back to 2016. I will see you all tomorrow with the next chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	6. CHAPTER FIVE: THE FINAL OWNER

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's time for the survivors to locate and free the final owner from his imprisonment without being captured by Arthur, Sarah, and Marvin. Will they be successful?
> 
> Oh, and because there is a new episode of Escape the Night premiering today, please refrain from putting any spoilers in your comments just incase you see it before I do.

**CHAPTER FIVE: THE FINAL OWNER**

*****

Once the quartet reached the basement, they made their way through the hallway, avoiding looking into the rooms that held the bodies of Andrea, Sierra, Lele, and Benny, which wasn’t easy since the doors were open on all three rooms. And, after what felt like forever with the fear that Sarah would search the basement for them, they found a new door.

“Is that it?” Joey wondered. “Over there?"

“I hope so,” Dawn muttered.

Eva nodded, having checked the map. "That's it. That's it. That's the-"

"The key," Joey interrupted, turning to Eva. "The key. The key. The key."

"I don't _have _the key!” Eva protested.

“Oh, don’t tell me that we forgot to grab the key,” Dawn moaned.

Oli suddenly smiled and pulled the key from his pocket. “I’ve got the key,” he announced and his friends all groaned while he kept smiling and handed the key to Joey.

“Not funny, Oli,” Joey grumbled and used the key to unlock the door, opening it to find a man tied to the wall, and they were certain that this man _was _Arthur’s brother. He had a weathered look in his pitch-black eyes, and he stared at them at them with a warily expression on his face, which meant that he wasn’t sure if he could trust them or not.

“Are you Arthur's brother?” Eva asked, wanting to be sure.

“Untie me," he responded, his voice an emotionless growl. "My brother's a dead man."

Joey nodded. "Okay. Let's untie him.” And they entered the room long enough to untie the ropes.

They backed back out and the man straightened up. He picked up a black hook that immediately terrified them, especially Joey since that was the very same hook from his nightmares.

“He has a _hook!_” Joey shouted, shoving them to the side to avoid being stabbed. "Holy crap! Omigod!"

However, Arthur's brother stormed out of his cell, a vengeful snarl permeating his tone. "My brother's a _dead man__!_” And he headed down the hallway.

Exchanging uneasy looks, the quartet hurried after him.

*****

They followed the man out of the basement and back outside, wondering where he was going, and what he was going to do. He ignored their questions as he headed across the lawn, limping slightly, but he had an angry and determined expression on his face. After being locked up for _so long _by his own brother, he was determined to have his revenge.

Just then, Sarah appeared and the quartet retreated up the stairs to the porch while the man advanced toward her. For the _first time ever, _there was actual fear in the maid’s eyes and yet, she tried to stab him with the knife. However, he managed to grab her, spin her around, and he slit her throat with the hook.

“Oh shoot!” Joey gasped, staring at the sight of Arthur’s brother _actually _killing Sarah so easily with the hook. “Omigod!” He and his friends watched as Marvin came out of nowhere and charged at the man, trying to punch him.

However, Arthur’s brother managed to easily flip the groundskeeper so that he landed on the ground _hard_, and started stabbing him in the chest with the hook until he was dead. He straightened up and turned when Oli yelled at him that there was someone behind him, and sure enough, Arthur was heading his way.

_‘At last,’ _he thought, heading for his traitorous brother, and he stumbled backwards when Arthur shot him in both shoulders, and he fell backwards. He heard the screams of the four young people from the porch, and he was sure that they thought he was done for, but he wasn’t about to let his brother win again.

When Arthur got closer to his brother to finish him off, he was caught off guard when his brother suddenly stabbed him in the leg with the hook. He cried out, dropping the gun as he stumbled backwards, trying to keep his balance.

His brother got up on his knees, grabbed the gun, and he emptied the remaining bullets into Arthur’s chest, forcing him backwards until he toppled into the fountain, and he didn’t get back up.

“He’s done it,” Oli breathed, staring at the bodies of the villains that’d been keeping them all trapped.

“Can we go home?” Eva wondered, and her friends all shrugged, but they were also feeling hopeful, too.

The man dropped the gun and retrieved the hook. He got up, and he started toward the house, alarming the four survivors, who immediately ran for the doors behind them, and they duck inside, slamming the doors shut.

Through the windows, they were surprised when he turned toward the driveway, limping away from them, and right before their eyes, he faded away.

He was freed from the evil of the house, and that meant that they could now _finally _get rid of the evil once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes! So long Arthur, Sarah, and Marvin, you three WON'T be missed by anyone.
> 
> So long, and I will see you all tomorrow with the next chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	7. CHAPTER SIX: THE RITUAL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> Ok, somehow the chapter I posted yesterday got deleted, so I'm going to post it again, along with the chapter for today. Not entirely sure of how that happened, but sometimes it does. Onward!

**CHAPTER SIX: THE RITUAL**

*****

They hurried into the living room, their minds reeling from everything that had happen, and Eva realized that there was more light starting to come through the windows.

“Guys,” she said, pointing to the windows. “The sun’s coming up.” And they weren’t out of the woods just yet, even with Arthur dead, along with Sarah and Marvin. “We need to figure this out.”

“The ritual,” Joey said, grabbing the papers from the table and looked them over. “Okay. This is the right ritual.”

“Good,” Dawn said. “’cause we’ve got to do that _right away _if we’re going to get out of here.”

Both Oli and Eva nodded in agreement and they all worked on removing the tables and chairs from the area before Dawn hurried outside with Oli and Eva to get more sand.

Joey turned to move the table that the ritual had been on and he paused, finding another folded paper on it that he was sure hadn’t been there before. He glanced toward the doors and then he picked up the paper and unfolded it to see written across the top, _Property Title and Deed_. This was it, the deed that he was suppose to receive that very night.

_‘This might be the evil trying to tempt me,’ _Joey thought, _‘but I’m not about to leave this here to harm others.’ _He quickly folded the paper and stuffed it into the inside pocket of his coat.

Just then, Dawn, Oli, and Eva returned with several buckets of sand, and after Joey helped them remove the remaining table, they went to work on forming a new circle and triangle with the sand. Once this was done, they set up the artifacts and the candles, and Joey sat down in the center with the fourth artifact and a white cord. Oli, Dawn, and Eva sat on the outside of the circle.

It was time to seal the evil away and get the _hell _out of there.

Oli took a deep breath and he began reading the invocation. “With the thread of the crimes of your own design, I bind your evil three times. Seven times. I bind you from behind, I bind you from before, that you hurt my people nevermore.” And as he read, Joey wrapped the cord around the artifact, which was starting to shake, while the evil started surrounding them, clearly trying to stop them, but they weren’t going stop, not this time. “I bind you from the left. I bind you from the right. I bind you by day, and I bind you by night.”

The artifacts began glowing a ghostly red, along with the circle and triangle design, but they continued the ritual. “I bind you from below. I bind you from above. I bind you with your own evil within. So let this magic unfold!" Oli was shouting now, and Joey had finished wrapping the cord around the artifact, which was shaking violently by this point, making it difficult for him to hold it. "Goddess of the darkest night, bind the presence that haunts this home in thy sacred fires _of eternity!__!_” And with that, the glowing redness was sucked into Joey's artifact, which stopped shaking, and the light returned to the room.

They looked around, wondering if it had worked this time, and when there was no demonic laughter, they _knew _it was finally over.

“Guys, it worked,” Dawn said, a relieved smile on her face. “We did it!”

Eva immediately jumped to her feet. “We need to bury them!”

Realizing that she was right, they quickly gathered up the four artifacts and hurried outside to bury them with only a few minutes to go.

*****

While Joey got a large metal box from the garden shed, Oli and Dawn were busy digging a hole while Eva was holding the artifacts in her arms. Joey staggered over with the box and she quickly shoved them inside. Locking it, the quartet worked together on shoving the whole thing into the hole, where they grabbed the shovels and began burying it as fast as they could.

Soon the box was completely buried and they dropped the shovels just as the sun peeked over the side of the mountain, bathing them with its warm light. They had done it, and the long night was _finally _over.

*****

Together, Joey, Dawn, Oli, and Eva walked down the long driveway, shaken and changed by the experience, and they weren’t even sure that _anyone _would believe them when they got back home. But it didn’t matter, it was over, the evil was contained, and they were _finally _going to return to 2016 and their lives.

Ahead of them, the gates opened on their own, and one by one, they went through them, leaving both the house and the 1920s behind. Joey was the last to step through the gate, and for a brief moment, he felt something pressing against his mind, something dark that briefly turned his eyes black, and then it faded as quickly as it appeared.

Dawn looked back at her friend, concerned. “You ok, Joey?” she asked.

Joey nodded and put his arm around her shoulders. “Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s get out of here.”

“Ok,” she agreed and they followed after Oli and Eva.

*****

The quartet hadn’t gotten very far from the gates when they found a car waiting for them, and it was a white 1920s car that was similar to the one that had first brought them to the house. Waiting next to it was a woman, who smiled when she saw them approaching.

“Hello,” she said as they drew closer and many other 1920s vehicles pulled up nearby, “I’m Edith Caulfield, and we’re members of the Society Against Evil.” She nodded to the men and women, who were all wearing dark clothes, that were exiting the vehicles and smiled at the foursome as their wary expressions changed to that of recognition. “It’s good to see that you all are alive, and I’m here to get you out of here. Please, get in.” She opened the door and they quickly climbed inside.

Shutting the door, Edith went to the driver’s side, climbed in, and she drove off while the men and women headed for the house to retrieve the bodies of the victims and the bodies of the bad guys, too.

They had _a lot _to do and very little time to do it in since the spell that kept the house locked in the 1920s wasn’t going to remain weaken for very long, but they hoped that would remain weak long enough to complete their mission before it was too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't take the deed, Joey! Oh well, he has to in order to set things up for Season 2, and I'm just glad that the ritual worked and that they're out of there. Next chapter will be up soon. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	8. CHAPTER SEVEN: SOCIETY AGAINST EVIL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> I'm still not sure of how the previous chapter got deleted, but it's up, and I'm glad that Joey, Dawn, Eva, and Oli are finally out of that evil house. Let's go see how they're doing. Shall we? We shall! Onward!

**CHAPTER SEVEN: SOCIETY AGAINST EVIL**

*****

Edith drove the car down the road, using a device to return them to 2016, and she glanced at the rearview mirror at her passengers. She wasn’t too surprised to see that they had dozed off in the back seat, or that Joey had one arm wrapped around Dawn’s waist, and she had her head on his shoulder, while Eva’s head was resting on Oli’s shoulder, and she’d expected this to happen, especially after everything they’d gone through.

_‘But it isn’t over yet,’ _she thought, returning her attention to the road and made a turn, not toward L.A., but toward a completely different destination instead. _‘They will learn the truth of what has been happening while they were in the house, and it was be quite a shock to their systems.’_

*****

It wasn’t until the car came to a stop that Joey and the others woke up, and they were confused when they saw a mansion. For a _very _brief moment, they thought that they had been taken back to the 1920s house, but then they saw the symbol for the Society Against Evil on the front door, and it was clear that this was a different place altogether.

“What is this place?” Oli wondered and started when Edith opened the door, gesturing them to come out, and they did so. When they got out, a group of people, who were all wearing business suits that were either black or grey, exited the mansion and descended the steps.

“No idea,” Joey said, holding Dawn’s hand in his own as the group reached them and the lead person, an older man with military buzzcut brown hair and green eyes, spoke.

“Welcome, Mr. Graceffa, Ms. Hatcher, Ms. Gutowski, Mr. White,” he said to each of them, shaking their hands and smiling at their surprised and confused expressions. “I am James McCoy, and there is much that we will need to discuss once you have all have gotten some rest, for it has been a long night for you all.”

“Why can’t we just go home?” Eva asked, and she _really _wanted to go home and see her family.

James clearly understood their confusion that they weren’t going home right away. “All in good time,” he promised and gestured to the mansion. “Please, come this way.”

Realizing that they weren’t being given much of a choice, the four survivors followed the group into the mansion, which turned out to be one of the safe houses for the Society Against Evil, according to James, and that they would be given a full medical checkup before they got some food and some much-needed rest.

*****

“Is this _really _necessary?” Oli asked after they were given clean clothes, which consisted of white tank tops, grey sweat pants, and white socks, to change into, although Joey had been reluctant to hand over his dinner coat at first, and he was now seated on one of the examination beds, having a penlight shined into his eyes.

The same was being done to Dawn, Joey, and Eva, and these examinations have been going on for a full hour now.

“It’s just to be sure that none of you suffered any serious trauma,” Dr. Caroline Green assured him, and lowered the penlight once she was certain that his eyes were functioning properly. “Your eyes are working fine, Oli.”

Oli rolled his eyes and muttered that he could’ve told her that, but he was also relieved to hear that he was in good health, even after the electric shocks from that dammed chair back at the cursed house. “Are we good to go?” he asked hopefully.

“Soon,” Dr. Green promised as she presented each of them with two small cups, one had water while the other had several white pills in them.

“What are these?” Dawn asked, eying them suspiciously. After being chloroform and then injected with some drug by Arthur, she wasn’t willing to risk her life by taking some strange pills, even if they were being provided by an actual doctor.

“The serum that Arthur injected into each of you is still in your systems,” Dr. Green explained, having just received the test results. “And while it won’t do any harm to you, these pills will help flush it out of your bodies to reduce the odds of that happening.”

Joey didn’t look convinced and neither did his friends. “Do we really need to take these pills?” he asked.

“I can understand your reluctance,” said Dr. Green tenderly, “and you don’t really have to, but I strongly advised that you _do _take them as both a doctor and a mother. You will experience some drowsiness as a side affect, but whether you take the pills, it’s still entirely up to you.”

The four friends looked at each other and then at the pills. Although they’ve been through hell and knowing that the drug that Arthur had injected into them when they had been unconscious wouldn’t harm them, the thought of having it inside their bodies, even now was a scary thought.

“On three?” Joey suggested and his friends nodded. “One. Two. Three.” And they gulped the pills and used the water to swallow them at the same time.

It wasn’t very long before they started to feel drowsy as the pills kicked in, and they didn’t object when the nurses helped them all lie down on the beds. Soon they all drifted off into a deep, healing sleep that they all desperately needed.

Dr. Green checked on them and turned to James when he entered the infirmary. “They’re all resting now,” she reported. “What of the retrieval?”

“The bodies have all been recovered,” James informed her. “Including the bodies of Arthur, Sarah, and Marvin.” He looked over at their sleeping guests. “How are they?”

Dr. Green sighed. “Physically they’re going to be fine,” she answered. “But as for their emotional and mental states, that’s an entirely different matter, and there’s only so much that I or anyone can do to help them heal from the hell that the evil put them through.”

James nodded, dreading the morning when he would have to reveal a hard truth to their guests. _‘They have no idea of what was going on in the world while they were trapped in that house,’ _he thought, going over to them and looked at each of them in turn, especially Dawn and Joey. _‘These two have had it the worst, and it isn’t over for either of them, not yet.’_

He and the other Society members knew that Dawn Hatcher came from a long line of Light-bearers, and they had been keeping tabs on her since she was a baby. When they learned that she had gone to the 1920s house with Joey, it had them worried since they knew that she didn’t know _anything _about the Light that existed inside her, and they feared that she would be killed by the evil before she could learn of the Light and how to control it.

But Dawn had survived, and James knew that the Council of Elders, who were the primary leaders for the Society Against Evil, would be wanting to train her and teach her everything that she would need to know about the Light for what was to come for both her and Joey. So, it was up to him to make sure that they understood that she would need time to rest and heal from the trauma before that could happen.

_‘Rest well, Dawn, Joey,’ _James thought, turning away from the beds and went to the table that the clothing that the four survivors had been wearing when they first arrived was lying on. He looked at the clothing and then reached for the black coat that Joey had been wearing, and heard something crinkle in the inside pocket.

Forehead furrowed, James reached into the pocket and pulled out the folded paper. Sensing immediately what it was, he dropped it and backed away. “Oh God.”

“What is it?” Dr. Green asked, moving to the table and stopped when she sensed the dark taint that was on the paper. “No, I thought the evil was sealed away.”

“It is,” James confirmed as he summoned two security guards, who were quick to shove the paper into an iron box covered with symbols. “But some of it was still on that deed to the 1920s house, and I fear that it may have infected Joey when he brought it with him.”

“Why would he do something like that?” Dr. Green asked uneasily, glancing at the young man in question.

James sighed. “I suspect that he wanted to make sure that no one else would fall victim to the evil in the house,” he guessed. “It’s understandable, but it also means that we will have to keep a close eye on him in the days to come, and hopefully Dawn’s Light will be able to keep the darkness inside him from overwhelming him while they are together.”

“And when they’re not together?”

“Only time will tell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since it wasn't revealed of where the deed went after Joey chose to take it from the 1920s house, I figured that the Society Against Evil would've convinced him to let them put the deed somewhere safe. Anyway, I will post the final chapter tomorrow and I will see you all then. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	9. EPILOGUE: THE AFTERMATH

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's time to wrap up this story with the final chapter, and see how the survivors cope with everything that they'd gone through during that night of hell. Onward!

**EPILOGUE: THE AFTERMATH**

*****

The next morning found the four survivors having breakfast with James and they were all wearing new clothes that was more to their fashion standards, and Joey was concerned about not getting the dinner coat back, but when James insisted that it was for the best, he reluctantly agreed.

When Dawn asked him why he was wanting the coat back, his response was that it was a nice coat and it was a shame to lose it.

That did make sense, but it was pushed from their minds when James told them that there was something very important that they needed to know before they could return to their families and friends, and that it wasn’t good.

*****

James lead them into his study and he turned on a TV that had a news report on it that had the four of them sinking into the chairs provided with shocked expressions on their faces.

_`“There is _still _no word on the whereabouts of the thirteen prominent YouTubers and actress Dawn Hatcher, who all disappeared last June. Anyone with information is advised to call the authorities__…”` _As the report continued, fourteen photos appeared on the screen, and it was photos of them and their late friends.

“Oh my God,” Eva gasped as James shut the TV off. “Last June? How long were we actually gone?”

“Three months,” James answered, facing them. “You all were in that house for three months.”

“How – how is that _possible_?” Oli demanded. “It was a _single _night! Not three months!”

James sighed and pulled up a chair so that he could sit across from them. “When Arthur destroyed the car that you used to go from 2016 to the 1920s,” he explained. “It broke the connection, and while it was a single night for you and your friends, the rest of the world moved on.” He gave them a chance to absorb this news before he continued. “Now, I’m certain that you’re all wondering how you’re going to explain this to everyone, and I can assure you that we have a way to take care of it.”

“How?” Dawn asked in trembling voice, her blue eyes brimming with unshed tears. “How are you going to explain what happen to us and our friends? _How?_”

“It won’t be easy,” James admitted, “but the Society has made the required arrangements and a cover story.”

Although shaken by the fact that they had been in the 1920s house for three months instead of a single night, they did take some small comfort in the fact that they would be spared of how to tell the truth of how their friends had died.

*****

When Joey, Dawn, Eva, and Oli were all reunited with their families, Joey’s boyfriend Daniel, and friends later that same day, they learned about the cover story that the Society Against Evil had provided, along with the bodies of their friends, and the bodies of the bad guys.

The official story provided by the Society was that Joey, Dawn, and the others had been lured into a house by a man named Arthur Kenneth, a cult leader who locked them up and tortured them until all but four of them had been killed in horrible ways. And they would’ve died too if it hadn’t been for the timely arrival of the Society.

Most of the newspapers and networks believed the cover story provided by the Society Against Evil, did a few interviews with the four survivors, who stuck with the cover story like glue, and yet, there was one reporter for the _Daily Bruin_, which was the student newspaper for University of California, who didn’t seem to believe the official story.

His name was Jermaine Whitehouse, who was proud to be related to Mary Whitehouse, a woman who’d been overly critical about shows like _Doctor Who _for decades and had been a thorn in the side of _Doctor Who _fans, and others connected to the show, everywhere. He also wrote a blog about controversial topics, and he kept badgering Joey, Dawn, Oli, and Eva about what _really _happen to them and the victims during those three months until all four of them threatened to sue the newspaper. It was only then that he backed down, but it was clear to them that Jermaine wasn’t going to give up so easily, and this did concern them a bit.

*****

Over the next eleven weeks, funerals were held for those that had been killed during those three months, and Joey, Dawn, Eva, and Oli attended all of them, even though it was one of the _hardest _thing they had had to do since escaping the long night. And for them, it was mostly just an endless stream of sadness and regret, for they all doubted that they would ever been able to let go of the guilt of what they had had to do in order to survive, and the hardest funerals for them all were the ones for Lele Pons and Benny Miller.

*****

After the funeral for Benny ended, nearly everyone left saved for Joey and Dawn. They stayed and watched as the workers started to bury the coffin that held their friend, a friend that they hadn’t been able to save despite their best efforts.

“None of them should’ve died,” Joey said finally as they both turned and started walking toward the parking lot and his car, for he’d driven them to the cemetery for the funeral. Daniel _had _offered to drive them, but Joey had _insisted _since this way he and Dawn could heal together, and his boyfriend had agreed.

“I know,” Dawn agreed, hooking his arm with hers. “Unfortunately, the ability to travel back in time in order to change things isn’t possible, and somehow I doubt that the Society Against Evil would even let us do it if it was possible.”

“Shame we don’t have a real functioning TARDIS,” Joey commented and she giggled, leading him to smile a bit, but that smile faded and so did Dawn’s giggles when they saw that there was a black car that had a familiar gold symbol of a circle with two conjoined ‘H’s’ with two small circles. “What do they want?” he wondered, as two men that had been waiting by the car approached them.

“Mr. Graceffa, Ms. Hatcher,” said one of the men. “Our employer wishes to speak with you both.” And he nodded to the waiting car.

Although they would much rather be somewhere else, Joey and Dawn both reluctantly allowed the two men to escort them to the black car, where they climbed inside, and found themselves seated across from James, who was wearing a dark fedora on his head and yellow tinted sunglasses over his eyes.

“Joey, Dawn,” he said with a slight smile, “good to see you both again.”

“Wish we could say the same,” Dawn said acidly, having been hoping that they had seen the last of the Society Against Evil.

“Are you stalking us or something?” Joey asked.

James shook his head. “No,” he assured them. “But after what you both went through with your friends, the Society just wants to make sure that you’re taking the steps needed in order to start healing and letting the guilt of what happen go. Neither of you had _any _idea what was inside that house, or that Arthur was going to use you to get what he wanted.”

“Maybe,” said Joey grimly. “But that doesn’t excuse the fact that _we_, plus Eva and Oli had to _vote _on who would go into those challenges and who would end up dying because of our choices. No matter how much time goes by, their blood will still be on _our _hands, and there’s no changing that.”

“You’re right,” James agreed. “You both had to make choices that cost lives, just like plenty of other people, including the men and women who go to war to protect the Untied States from their enemies. Rest assure, however, your emotional and mental wounds will heal, but only if you can forgive yourselves. If not, then that guilt will continue to consume you, much like Dominick "Dom" Cobb in the movie _Inception_, and you both know what that almost did to him.”

“We’re aware,” Dawn said dryly. “Is there anything else, or can we go?”

James nodded and as they both moved to leave, he did hand the actress an envelope. “For your eyes only, Ms. Hatcher.” And when they both got out, and the door was shut after his two employees were back inside the car, he nodded to the driver to go.

*****

Joey and Dawn watched the car drive off and, after glancing at the envelope that she pocketed to worry about later, they got into his car, and they also drove off away from the area.

*****

It was a few days before Dawn finally decided to see what was in the envelope since her curiosity was going to be the death of her if she didn’t take a look at the darn thing. _‘If it’s an invite to join them, then I’m gonna toss it into the garbage disposal,’ _she thought, taking the envelope out of the pocket of her jacket, and carried it to the kitchen of her California home.

Sitting down at the table, Dawn opened the envelope and found a folded paper inside it. She took it out and saw that it was a letter, but not the type she was expecting.

_Dear, Ms. Hatcher,_

_I know that you would much rather having nothing to do with the Society Against Evil, especially after what both you and Joey went through, but I personally wanted to reassure you that should either of you either need any help, then the Society will be there to give you that aid. I’m certain that you yourself, Dawn, have many unanswered questions, including why you both were targeted by Arthur in the first place._

_I don’t have all the answers, but I know that when Arthur was controlling Vincent when he was a prisoner in the house, he accessed the hallucinations and learned that the evil was constantly searching for new victims to lure into its’ embrace in order to grow stronger, and maybe eventually strong enough to corrupt the world itself._

_So, when the house started to target Joey with that nightmare, why he was targeted, we’re still unsure, Arthur started doing his research on him, and through that research he learned about Joey’s friendship with you. He was intrigued by how you could be friends despite being from such different backgrounds and lifestyles, and he saw that as a way to take advantage of both you._

_I wish that you both could have been spared the horrors that you went through, but I am certain that you both will grow stronger from the experience._

_Your friend,_

_James McCoy._

Dawn stared at the letter, and she was feeling conflicted. Yes, the Society Against Evil _had _given them the means to defeat the evil _and _brought them back to 2016, but they had also created the situation in the first place, too.

And while this letter did answer some questions, including why Arthur had gone after her and Joey, there were still other questions that it didn’t answer, and that also meant the question of what kind of Light did she have inside her that had been mentioned to Tim and Matt when they had been trapped in that room.

_‘It doesn’t matter,’ _Dawn thought, folding the letter and put it back in the envelope, which she put away in a box in the attic of her house. _‘It’s time to accept what happen and move on with my life. The evil is gone, and it’s time to move forward.’_

The end…or is it?

*****

_I have so many, so many regrets._

_So many lies, so many broken ties._

_I wish for my old life._

_Wish I could fix my strike._

_Cause no one truly escapes the night._

_Oh, won't you help me escape the night._

_Oh baby help me escape the night._

_Escape the night._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap for Season 1. There will be a post-season story coming up that I'll start posting on Monday. Bye for now! R&R everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> Man, things are NOT looking good for the survivors.
> 
> So, I will see you all tomorrow with the first chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


End file.
